Court orders police to pay costs

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33783, 4 March 1975, Page 3

Court orders police to pay costs

GVew Zealand Press Association)

HAMILTON. March 3.

The police have been ordered to pay $25 costs to each of 10 committee members of the Putaruru Marist Rugby Club who last month appeared in court on charges relating to their Christmas cabaret.

In a reserved decision given in the Hamilton Magistrate's Court. Mr T. B. Mooney, S.M., dismissed the charges against the committee members and ordered the costs be paid to them. •The 10 defendants had earlier in the Putaruru Magistrate’s Court each • pleaded not guilty to a charge that, on December 71 having control of a dancei held in their club’s hall, they) supplied liquor to Eric Flem-: ing and others, and per-1 mitted Eric Fleming and' others to consume liquor in! the hall. The Magistrate said the! matter went further than) just discharging the defend-' aftts without conviction. ■ “It is notorious that sport-! ing clubs maintain stocks of' li&uor to supply their mem-!

bers.” he said. 1 “Regularly the police; bring before the Waikato courts youths who have' broken into the liquor storesj of one or other of the golf: clubs in the district. .‘‘Yet in the 10 years li have lived in Hamilton | I have known of only one other sporting club which; has been the subject of in-. ■v?stigation — and that also! was a football club.”

Tickets bought The Magistrate said the club s cabaret had been advertised in the local news-j paper and two constables i from a neighbouring district, had been instructed to buy! tickets.

Each had then been admit-' ted to the cabaret despite a sign above the entrance,; which read, “Private. Members only.” The constables found that all persons present at the cabaret were members ex-; cept for three specially in-1 vited guests. "Having reported to their superior officers that their j suspicions were groundless, it might have been expected that that would end the matter." the Magistrate said. Profits of the night were for club funds and an attempt bv police officers to

pay for liquor in addition to the admission charge were rejected, he said. “The doorkeeper was entitled to admit the police' contingent in the justifiable! belief that they were bona! fide guests.” “I was informed from the Bar that when they were recognised and inquiry made as to the reason for their 1 presence they separated, and 1 having donned their uniforms returned in their 1 official guise,” said the ; Magistrate. ’ The fact that constables j ! had been supplied with | liquor was irrelevant to the! ! point at issue, he said. “The organisers of the social gathering at Putaruru ,on December 7 took all , steps reasonably possible be- , I fore and during the function to exclude others than memi bers of the club or their i 'specially invited guests . . .” i isaid the Magistrate. ■